Apparatus for distilling liquid mixtures



May 14, 1929. D. G. s lmo APPAfiATUS. FOR DI'STILL'ING LIQUID MIXTUREFS origipaliilpd'flarch 24. 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 1 DAVID GBRANDT May 14, 1929.- o. a. BRANDT APPARATUS FOR DISTiLLING LIQUID MIXTURES Original Fi led March 221, 1920 4 Sheets-Sheet 4 anvehto'c DAVID G. BRANDT 24, 1920 for Patented May 1 4, T929.

, inane UNITED,LSITATESFPATENT OFFICE.

IDA'VT LD G. BRANDT, OF WESTFIELD, NEW JERSEY, ASSIGNOR, BY FIESNE ASSIGN- MENTS, TO HEAT TREATING COMPANY, OIE NEW YORK, N. Y., A CO-RPORATIOH OF DELAWARE.

APPARATUS FOR DISTILLING LIQuIn MIXTURES. v

original application med March 24, 1920, Serial No. 368,221. Dividerlaiid this application filed September 24, 1926.

The present invention relates to an apparatus for distilling liquid mixtures, and more particularly to an apparatus for refining petroleum and similar substances.

This application is a division of copending application Serial No. 368,221, filed March Process and apparatus for distilling liquid mixtures Crude petroleum is composed principally of a mixture of hydrocarbons comprising substantially .all of the constituents which make up the various commercial products obtained by the. refining operations, from the lightest, most volatile products such as'naphtha and gasoline to the semi-solid lubricating greases and waxes. To obtain the principal com mercial products from the crude petroleum it is, therefore, only necessary to separate the constituents of the petroleum by successive distillatioirs into fractions-lying within certain boiling point and density limits, and to remove by suitable chemical treatment those impurities which impart a disagreeable odor or. color to the product,

Toeffect this fractionation, it is customary to slowly heat the petroleum iii large cylindrical boilers by direct heat of a fire and to separately condense the vapors produced at different temperatures. The petroleum cannot, however, be separated directly into its various commercia 1" products by a single distillation in this manner, because the boiling points of the constituents of the crude pe troleum vary gradually or by almost imperceptible steps, from the lightest to' the heaviest, aiid the vapors produced at any particular temperature in turn comprise a mixture of hydrocarbons having boiling points extending over a comparatively wide range. The crude fractions thus obtained are, there fore, redistilled several times to separate them into more sharply defined fractions, and the latter are treated with purifying chemicals to produce commercial grades of gasoline, kerosene, lubricating or fuel oils, waxes, and other products. The distilling process is sometimes varied by continuously passing the petroleum successively through a series of stills maintained at progressively higher-temperatures and recovering a separate fraction from each still, and may be further modified by distilling the heavier fractions with steam to lower the distilling temperature and there by lessen the tendency of the hydrocarbons Serial N0. 137,10.

ingthe body of oil and of cooling the con-' densing vapors since the net energy change caused by the separation of the etroieuni into the various fractions is ncgligiile. This loss of heat is increased when steam distillation is.

employed in distilling'the heavier hydrocarbons, since an additional amount of heat is required for the vaporization 'of the steam, all of which is lostwlien the steam is again condensed with the condensing fractions.

In each distillation in the method described above, the heavier constituents of the petroleum are subjected to a comparatively high temperature for a long period of time. This long continued heating tends to overheat or decompose a portion of the petroleum, more especially in the case of. the heavier lubricating oils, to lower the viscosity, and to form tarry and unsaturated compounds which discolor and injure the product. An increased amount of chemicals is therefore required in subsequently purifying the oil andvcry fro quently the oil is permanently discolored and the quality of the product deteriorated.

The main object of the invention is to provide a distilling apparatus in which a liquid mixture may be continuously and rapidly separated into its components with a minimum consumption of heat and a minimumdccomposition of liquid.

A. further object of the invention is to pro vide an apparatus for distilling hydrocarbon oils in which the heat of condensation of the fractions obtained is recovered and returned to the system.

lVith these and other objects in view, the invention consists in the apparatus described in the following specification and defined in the claims.

The various features of; the invention are illustrated in the accompanying drawings, in which:

Fig. 1 is a front elevation, partly in section, of distilling apparatus embodying a preferred form of the invention;

Fig. 2 is a sectional elevation of a fractionating column forming a part of the distilling apparatus, taken on line 22 of Fig. 3;

Fig. 3 is a sectional elevation of the fractionating column. taken on line 8-3 of Fig. 2:

Fig. t is a perspective view showing the interior arrangement of a portion. of the. condensing and cooling coils in the fractionating covery and fractionating chambers ina countercurrent direction to, and in a heat interchanging relation with hot vapors and liqvaporized. The vapors are immediately'ab-- uids produced in a later step of the process. The chambers form a series of temperature zones in which the petroleum is heatedto progressively higher temperatures and an increasing proportion of its constituents is sorbed and carried out of the liquid by ourrents of inert gas which are bubbled through the liquid parallel to the direction of flow of the oil, and which serve to agitate and circulate the liquid and-promote a rapid and efficient transfer'of heat from the hot vapors and liquid to the fresh oil undergoing treatm'ent,

The heated oil is finally heated to a still higher temperature and an additional quantity of oil is vaporized in a boiler 01' still heated directly by'the combustion of fuel.

During the final heating and vaporization of the oil gas and vapors from the heat recov-' cry and fractionating chambers are continuously bubbled through the heated oil to promote uniform heating and the additional vapors produced are absorbed by the gas and carried out of the boiler. From the boiler, the gas and vapors pass through a series of condensers placed in the fractionating chambers and are cooled to progressively lower temperatures by the inflowing stream of crude petroleum. A portion ofthe vapors is condensed in each condensing coil, the higher boiling fractions being condensed in the chambers receiving-vapors in nearest communication with the boiler and progressively lighter fractions being condensed 1Il each successive condenser. In passing sucqcessivelv through the condensers, the gas is cooled by the crude petroleum andis deprived of substantially all of the petroleum vapors, and, after being still further. cooled to remove the last traces of condensable vapors, is returned tothe first fraetionating chamber and mixed with fresh infiowing crude petroleum to be.treated. To recover the heat remaining in the unvaporized residues remaining in the boiler and in the hot condensates formed 1n the condensers, the

hot boiler residue passes from the boiler directly through the fractionating chambers parallel to the condensing vapors and the condensate from'each condenser is also passed through succeeding cooler chambers before leaving the apparatus.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, .011 to be treated is supplied to a fractionating and heat recovery column 10 (Fig. 1) by means of a" feed pump 12 and enters the bottom of the column through an inlet pipe 14. The oil supplied to the column is received under an inverted perforate-d tray 16 (Figs. 2, 3 and 6). resting on the bottom of the column 10, and flows under a series of notches 18 .on the lower edge of the tray (Fig. 6) and upwardly through a chamber 20-formcd in the lower portion of the fractionating and heat recovery column. A current of gas is simultaneously forced into the inlet pipe 14 through a pipe 124, by means of a pump 22, spreads'throughout the space under the tray 16 and passes upwardly into the chamber 20 through a number of perforations 24 distributed throughout the area of the tray (Fig.

6). The oil is heated in its upward passage through the chamber 20 by means of a number ofhe ating coils therein and the rapid aud uniform heating of the oil is promoted by the agitation and circulation of the oil caused by the upward passage of bubbles of gas from the openings 24. The most volatile constituents of the oil are vaporized by the heating and are immediately absorbed ,in the upwardly passing gas. The oil and .gas reaching the upper part of the chamber 20 flow together through openings 26 (Fig. 6) in a horizontal partition 28 and are received beneath an inverted, perforated tray 30 arranged similarly to the tray 16. The oil and gas separate beneath the tray 30 and the oil flows through notches on the under edge of the tray and enters a second heat recovery and fractionating chamber'32 maintained at a temperature somewhat higher than that of the chamber 20. The gas separated beneath the tray passesthrough openings in the top of the tray and bubbles upwardly through the oil in chamber 32- .'A further portion of the constituents of the oil, having a somewhat higher boiling point than those vaporized in chamber 20, are vaporized in chamber 32 and are" absorbed in the upwardly I passing gases. In this manner, the oil and gas, together with the vapors evolved, pass upwardly through a series of partitions 34, 36, 38, 40, 42 and 44 dividing the column 1.0 into corresponding heat recovery] and fractionating chambers 46,48, 50, 52, 54' and 56.

These chambers are maintained at progressively higher temperatures, and fractions of oil of progressively higher boiling points are successively vaporized therein. The openings 26 for the passage of 011 and gas in the partitions separating the chambers are positioned alternately at opposite sides of the chambers to compel the oil to pass back and forth thru the chambers and to obtain a uniform treatment of the oil. Each of the chariibers 46 to 56 are also-provided with gas and oil distributing-trays arranged similarly to the trays.l6 and In passing successively through the heat recovering and fractionating chambers, the

greater portion of the oil is vaporized and combustion. The mixture of oil, vapors and gas is conducted through the pipe 58 into the lower part of the boiler and passes under a bafile or distributing plate 68 positioned a short distance above the bottom of the boiler. The gas and liquid from the 'pipe 58 flow outwardly to the edge of the distributing plate 68 and upwardly through the boiler, the gaspassin upwardly, through the oil in a number'of bubbles and serving to agitate and circulate the oil during heating. In the boiler 60 va ors which-have a boiling point somewhat a ove the highest temperature reached in the fractioningcoluinn 10 are vaporized and absorbed in, themixture of gas and vapors formed in thefractioning column and pass'outwardly from the still 60 through a vapor pipe 70. Other types of boilers may, however, beemployed with the column, but the above type is preferred.

l/Vhen vaporizing the oil in contact with a body ofgas a distinct advantage is obtained in that the partial pressure under which the vaporization of the oil takes place, and 'accordingly the temperature of vaporization,

is materially lowered. By lowering the vaporizing temperature the tendency of the heavier oils to decompose during vaporization is lessened and a lighter colored, more easily refined product is obtained. In the first-steps of the evaporation, in which the most volatile oils are vaporized, a lower tern perature is required and the need for a lowering of the boiling point'by the presence of an inert gas is not very urgent; The vaporization of the low boiling constituents, however, increases the volume of gas originally supplied so that, as the gas and vapors reach the final vaporizing chambers 52, 54, and 56 for instance, a proportionally very v lar e amount of as es and low boilin va ors D b are presentand the boiling point of the high boiling constituents is lowered in the same manner asthough these higher boiling constituents were evaporated in a steam still using an enormous quantity of steam. All of the vapors produced, together with the gas originally introducedinto the column 10, are

circulated through the remaining oil in the final still 60 so'that the constituents which have the highest boiling points and which are most readily decomposed and discolored when heated are vaporized in the presence of the largest quantity of vapors and fixed gases.

' The entire amountot vapors produced in the column 10 and still 60 passes through the outlet pipe 7 Oto a condenser72 (Figs. 2 and 4) positioned in the uppermost fractionating chamber 56 and forming the first of a series of condensers situated in the fractionatingcolumn 10. The vapors entering the .con-

denser 72 from the pipe 70 are received at.

one end of a" manifold 74 which is divided into two chambers by means of a partition 76 (Figs. 2, 3 and- 4). Fromthe manifold 74 the gas and vapors pass through a series of heat interchange tubes 78 to a second manitold 80 which is freely supported and may f move backand forth as-the tubes 78 expand and contract. The vapors and gas flow through the manifold 80 and return-through tubes 7 8 to the manifold 7 4 on the opposite side of the dividing partition? 6. The tubes 78 are .cooled bycontact with the oil in the chamber 56 to a temperature but slightly above that of the oil and accordingly the vapors of the heaviest hydrocarbons formed at the higher'temperatures maintained in the still 60 are condensed in the coils while the condensation of the vapors produced at the lower temperature existing in the chamber 56 is avoided. I

From the exit side of themanifold 74,the gas and uncondensed vapors pass through an outlet tube 82 (Fig. 4), to a liquid and gas separator 84. The condensate carried by the gas and vapor settles to the lower part of the separator and the gas and uncondensed vapor flows from the upper part of the separator through a down-take pipe 86 to a second condenser 88 positioned within the chamber 54. r

The condenser 88 is similar in construction to the condenser 72' and is maintained by contact with the oil and gas in the chamber 54 at a temperature lower than that of the chamber 56 but slightly higher than that of the oil in chamber 54.

In the condenser 88 those vapors which i) 102 are separated from the uncondensed vapors and gas in a corresponding series of liquid and gas separators 104, 106, 108, 110, 112 and 114 (Figs. 1 and 2) inserted in vapor pipes connecting the condensers. When the residual gas has passed through the final cogndenser 102 it will have been cooled to very nearly the temperature of the crude oil entering through the pipe 14, but will still contain some of the lightest vapors vaporized in the chamber 20. To remove these lighter vapors, the gas from the final liquid and gas separator 114 is conveyed through an outlet pipe 116 and conducted to a water cooled condenser 118 (Fig. 1). In the condenser 118 the lightest vapors which it is practicable to condense are condensed and are separated from the gas in a liquid and gas separator 120. The cooled of the heavier vapors, with the result that when the lightest. most volatile and most'difficultly condensable vapors are tobe condensed the partial pressure of those vapors will have been increased by the previous condensation of the heavier vapors. The condensingtemperature of the lighter vapors is correspondingly raised and condensation is correspondingly promoted. The net result of the process is that the boiling point of the heaviest, most easily decomposed vapors, is lowered by the presence of a large volume of practically inert gases and vapors and that when the light est, most volatile vapors are to be condensed the volume of the vapors is reduced and the temperature of condensation is brought back to normal. By the present invention, there fore, the advantage, obtained in steam distillation by lowering the boiling point of the oil through the use of a large quantity of steam, is secured without the necessity of using the extra amount of heat required to vaporize the steam and the subsequent loss of this heat when the steam is condensed;

In the present invention, moreover, the heat of condensation of the condensing vapors which in the ordinary processes is given to the condenser cooling water and lost, is recovered and used to vaporize additional quantities of oil. The residual liquor and the con densates from the higher boiling fractions also contain a considerable amount of heat which maybe used to heat the incoming liquid and to vaporize the lower boiling constituents of the crude petroleum. To utilize this heat of the liquid, the hot oil from the upper part of the still 60 is withdrawn through an outlet pipe 126, passes through a liquid and vapor trap 128 and enters a pipe 130 which passes 1n the form of a coil successively through the chambers 56 to 20 (Fig.4). The arrangement of the coils 130 inthe various chambers is shown most clearly in Fig. 4 which shows a perspective View of the piping and corn denser arrangements in-the successive chambers' of the column 10, the path of the crude "oil and gases around the coils being indicated by the'arrows. The hot oil residue impartsits sensible heat to the upwardly passing crude oil and is-itself cooled, as it leaves thefinal chamber 20, to a temperature but slightly above that of the inflowin oil. In a similar manner the condensate rom the highest temperature condenser 72 is separatedfrom the gas and uncondensed vapors in the liquid and gas separator 84, is removed through an outlet pipe 132,,passes th-ru a liquid and va- I por trap 134 and enters a second series of coils 136 extending successively through the chambers 54 to 20. In" a similar manner condensates separated in-the liquid and gas separators to 114 are removed through liquid and gas traps 138,140,142,144, 146 and 148 (Figs.

rator 114 is ata temperature but slightly above that of the lowermost chamber 20 and is taken directly through a trap 160: The

. light condensate [from the'final condenser 118 and separator 120 is also "removed through a. trap 162 (Fig. 1)

Owing to the necessity of cooling the entire volume of vapors produced in the ap} paratus in'the upper chambers, the upper.

condensers are provided with a larger number of heat lnterchange tubes, the number gradually decreaslng in each condensing chamber to a minimum in the final condenser The amount of condensate obtained in each condenser may, however, be approximately the same. As the quantity of gases and vapors decreases, the extent of condenser surface is decreased to correspond.

her cit-condensate cooling coils in successive chambers and a substantially constant balance between the heat given up by the con densing and cooling coils, and the heat ab- The ' total heating surface in each of the chambers 54 to v20 is, however, kept approximately constant by the gradual increase in the numof heat imparted to the oil undergoing treatment for a given temperature differential or temperature gradient, between the heating fluid and the Oil undergoing treatment can similar typesof' stills. Moreover, the maximum temperature inany heat'interchange chamber is limited'by the temperature of condensation of the corresponding heating vapors, thereby preventing any accidental overheating of the oil undergoing treatment. The quantity of oil contained in the con denser chambers at any one time may also be made very small in proportion to the heating surface by a suitable proportioning and" arrangement of the heating tubes and accordingly the oil may be passed through the apparatus inea comparatively rapid stream'and correspondingly short time. This also tends to reduce the decomposition and discolorization of the products obtained and to produce an oil of high viscosity, since the oil is sub;- jec'ted to the decomposing condition for a very short period of time.

The condenser 72 to 102 are so positioned in the fractionatingand heat recovery chambers 56 to that they may be removed through openings in the side of the chambers and access may thereupon be. had to the interior of the chambers for the purpose of cleaning and removing sediment. To this end, the inlet manifold, 74 of the condenser 72 for instance, is fastened tothe side of the chamber 56 by means of bolts or other fastening means, and the heating tubes 78 of the con denser extend through an opening in the chamber wall and support the movable manifold 80. When the apparatus is to be cleaned, each condenser is disconnected from its corresponding liquid and vapor separator and from its neighboring condensers, the connection of the stationary manifolds to the chamber wall is removed and the entire condenser is withdrawn from the chamber. The distributing trays may thereupon be removed from the chamber, leaving only the liquid and condensate cooling coils and the perforated partitions in the column 10, access to, which may be had through the opening in the chamber walls normally closed by the stationary manifolds 'of the respective condensers. Doors 163 are also providedthrough which the distributi g trays may be removed for cleaning and repairs and to give access to the liquid coling coilswithout disturbing the condense rs.

A bontimied circulation and renewal of the oil below the plate 68 in the boiler 60 is obtained by means of a series of short tubes 164 (Fig. 7 extending downwardly through the plate 68. As fresh oil and gases pass from the tube 58 under the plate 68, they carry an additional amount of oil upwardly around the edge of the plate and draw a current of t oil-from above the plate'through the short tubes 164; to the spacebelow the plate. Any

sediment which separates out in the boiler 60qis therebycarried to the bottom and may be removed through a draw-off pipe 166.

The operation of the apparatus isbriefly' as follows Crude oil to be treated is supplied by means of a pump 12 and inlet pipe 14 to the bottom of the still 10 and passes cont-inuously through the series of heating chambers 20' to 56 which form a. series of zones of progressivelyhigher temperature. A cur rent of gas is also introduced into the cham= ber 20 of the column and is distributed throughout the oil in each chamber by means of the inverted, perforated trays 16, the trays being so arranged that the oil flows through the. serrations on the lower edge of the tray, while, the gas passes upwardly through perforationsin the .ho'rizontal surface of the tray. From the uppermost heat interchange chamber 56, the vapors, gas and unvaporized oil pass through the pipe 58 to the bottom of the externally heated still 60 and upwardly around the edge of the distributing plate 68. Gas and vapors from the still 60 pass in succession through the condensers 72 to 102, in the chambers 56 to 20 respectively, a portion of the vapors being condensed in each condenser and removed through the liquid and gas separators 82 to 114 and traps 134; to 160. The hot residue from the still 60 passes through a return pipe 126 (Fig. 5) and trap 128 to a coiled pipe 130 passing downwardly in succession through the condenser chambers 56 to 20. In the same manner the condensates from each of the condensers 7 2 to 100 pass in separate pipes through each of the chambers below them. The gas and uncomlcnsed viiipors from the iinal coud't-euser 102 are removed to the water cooled condenser 1.18 in which the lightest vapors produced are condensed and the gas is returned to the column 10 through a return pipe12 l. Under the condit ons normally obtained in the oil refining, natural gas, or tail gases or vapors from priordistillations, will be most convenient for use in the above process. Any inert gas or vapor which does not injurious lyaffect the products, such as carbon dioxide, nitrogen or steam, or, in case a simultaneous purifying and distillation of the oil is desired, sulphur dioxide may be used as the circulating gas With certain types of oil especially those containing a high percentage of volatile constituents, the volume of gas may be greatly reduced, or dispensed with entirely, the lighter vapors serving to sufficiently decrease the partial pressure and the boiling temperaing chambers, means for passing oil tobe ture of the higher fractions in the upper chambers of the still; In certain cases, more-' over and especiallywhen steam is being used, it may be preferable tointroduce the circulating gas at a point above the lower chamber, for instance into chambers 48 or 50, inasmuch as the lowering of the boiling point is desirable only in the distillation of the higher boiling constituents of the. oil.

The number of fractionating and heat recovery chambers may be varied to vary the number of fractions which may be obtained upon a sin le distillation. Whena large number of ractionating chambers are used, a correspondingly large number of fractions of comparatively narrow boiling point limits will be obtained. In this case several fractions may becombined to form any desired commercial product, Thus, the fractions from the chambers 20, 32 and 46 may be com- "bined to form gasoline, while the fractions obtained in the upper chambers 48 to 56 may be variously combined toproduce commercial grades of kerosene, lubricating stocks,

and other products. It may be necessary in some cases to distill certain fractions to" remove hydrocarbons which would be objectionable fora particular product, but when the apparatus is arranged to obtain a large number; of. fractions, those fractions whose boiling point limits lie well within the outer limits of the desired product may be used without further distillation, while those having boiling point limits lying near those of the desired product may require redistil-- lation. The apparatus permits of great ease and flexibility of control for different types of oil in which the boiling point characteristics obtained 'in any condenser may vary with the character of the oil, since iii any case the fraction may be put into that commercial product forwhich it is most suitable. The apparatus is especially suitable for the treatment of oils containing water, since there is no opportunity for condensing waterto flow back into the still or boiler iLIKl QtlllSG foaming or puking.

While the method of operating the appa-' ratushas been described as applied to the refining of petroleum, it is obvious that it may be applied to the redistillation of cer tain mineral oil fractions or to the distillation of similar hydrocarbon oils, or similar mixtures of liquids of different boiling points. In' the following claims, therefore, the term .hydrocarbon oil is intended to cover any mixture of liquids capable of being separated into its constituents by fractional distillation. I

Having described the preferred form of the invention, what is claimed as new is:

1. An apparatus for refining hydrocarbon oil which comprises a fractionating column having a series of heat recovery and condensrefined through said chambers in series, a condensing coil in each of said chambers, said condensing coils being connected in series, a vapor and liquid separator between each of said condensing coils, means for bubbling gas upwardly through said chamchamber, and having a series of notches in its lower edge, passageways from one chamber through the bottom of the chamber immediately thercabove, condenser coils in eachchambor positioned above said tray, vapor conduits connecting the coils of adjacent chambers, a liquid and gas separator ineach of said vapor conduits, and a condensate cooling coil extending from each separator successively through each of the lower'chambers. V

3. A distilling apparatus which comprises an upright column, a series .Of partitions in said column forming a vertical series of chambers, means for passing a current of liquid and gas upwardly through said column, a-gas distributing means in each partition, a still, means for conveying oil a and gas from said'coluinn to said still, a vapor condensing coil in each of said chain bers, means for conveying vapors from said still through the condensing coils of successive chambers, means for separating the condensates from the uiicondensed vapors in each of said condcnsing coils, means for passing said condensates separately through progressively cooler chambers, and means for separately passing residual liquor from said still throu 'h said-chainbers.

4. X distilling apparatus which comprises an upright column, a series of partitions in said column forming a vertical series of chambers, means fqr passing a current of liquid and gas upwardly through said .column, a gas distributing means in each partition, a still, means for conveying oil and gas from said column to said still, a vapor condensingcoil in each of said chambers, means for conveying vapors from said still through successive condensing coils, means for separating condensates from the uncondensed vapors in said condensing coils, means for passing said condensates separately through progressively cooler chambers and means for cooling said gas from the coolest of said condensing coils and returning it to this lowermost chamber.

-. In a liquid distilling and fractionating apparatus, a series of superposed fractionatmg chambers, a ser es of connected condensin g coils in saidchambers, a liquid separating trap for each coil, a series of separate cooling coils leading from each liquid trap through successively cooler. chambers, a liquid vapor- -izer'communicating with the last of said 7 chambers and with the condensing coil in said chamber,means for passing liquid to befraetionated through said chambers in series in contact with said coils then into said vaporizer, and a liquid cooling coil leading from saidvaporizer through successively cooler. chambers. I

6. Inan apparatus for refining hydrocarbon 0118, a fractlonatlng column, a SBIIGS Of 1 partitions in said column, forming 'a' series of I chambers, and liquid distributing' ,mean's' the preceding chambers in said partitions, a con denser in each of said chambers, said condensers beingof decreasing size, a' condensate cooling coil extending from each ofsaid condensers through 7. Anvapparatus for refining hydrocarbon oils which comprises a fractionating column having a series' of heat recovery and condensing chambers, a condensing coil in each of said chambers, said condensing coils being connectfor bubbling gas upwardly through eaoh'of 1 ed in series, .a vapor and liquid separator between each of said condensmg coils, means forpassing oil through said chambers, means said chambers, a still, means for conducting oil and gas fromthe last chamber of said column to said still, and means forconducting vapor from said still to the condensing coil "sageways and. havingopenings in its lower .through said partitions at alternately opposite ends thereof,;an inverted perforated tray on each partition extending over said pasedge adjacent said passageways, a manifold fixed in one side of each chamber, a movable manifold in each of said chambers,a series 1 of heat interchange tubes connecting said manifolds, a partition dividing'each of said fixed manifolds into two chambers, a series of vapor conduits-connectingone chamber of each manifold'wi'th the next lower manifold and the opposite chamber with the next high er manifold, a liquid and vapor separator in each vaporconduit, a series of pipes for leading the-condensatefrom each separator separately through eachof the lower chambers,-1neans forfintroducing' oil and gaiis ,be-

,neaththe tray in the lowermost chamber, and

means for removing oil, gasandvapor from the uppermost chamber.

9. In an apparatus for refining hydrocar bon oil, a fractionatin'g column comprising a series of.connected chambers, astill, means" connecting said column to said still, means for passing. a current of liquid hydrocarbonand gas through said column to said still,' vapor,

condensingcoils in said chambers, means for 7o conveying vapors from said still" through successive condensing COllS In a d rection counter-current to said l qu d andgas, means for separating condensates from uncondensed vapors lnsaid condensmg coils, COllS in said chambers in addition tosaid first mentioned coils and means for passing a condensate from said condensing coils through said 'se'c 0nd mentioned-coils in a direction counter current to said liquid and gas.

10. In an apparatus for distilling oils, a

still, a fractionating element divided into 'a plurality er compartments, means for passing the oil to be distilled through said come partments in series and intosaid still, means .85

for separately passing vapors and unvaporized oil from saidstill through said element countercurrent to the oil passing there-. through, said lastmentioned-means comprisingmeans for passing saidvapors and un- 9 vaporized oil through each compartment in heat exchange but out of direct contact with I the oil therein, means-forcollecting the con densate produced in each compartment, and

independent means for-passing the-condensates in heat exchange with theoil'in compartments of lower temperature}. In testimony. whereof I afiixmy signature.

" DAVID as, BRANDT. 

